March from Market @ Montgomery against Israel’s attack on Gaza.

This rally and march was , as they say , small but spirited . i can't knock ''usual suspects'', being one myself, but it was a shame that it was primarily just that. It was also unfortunate that most of the Arab-Americans that attended the 12/30 rally weren't present today. Was that because of the Civil Disobedience that was supposbly planned(,but didn't occur anyway )
? If that was the case perhaps we should call only for legal actions for now anyway.Getting large Numbers and ethnic diversity are more important than CD, which are basically symbolic shows after all.

"Getting large Numbers and ethnic diversity are more important than CD"

That could have been part of it but you also have to realize that last week protests were at times and on days that many people had off work and Monday was for many people the first day back at work after 2 weeks of vacation. Not everyone has jobs where you can take off without notice and with the bad economy those worried about making ends meet are not going to risk their jobs even for something they strongly care about.

If i were anywhere near SF i certainly would have joined the march against the Israeli bombing of Gaza!! Maybe certain people are nearby and always available for protests, and they become the "usual" suspects, and others can only come to protest marchs on rare occasions, making them less than usual or "unusual" suspects.

Then there's plenty of people out there who would agree with the theme of the protest march yet do not attend for various reasons (fear, time, apathy, depression, etc...). However, the usual and regular protesters should feel good about the fact that they are always out there during these times of crisis. For those of us watching on the sidlelines or from afar, we're really glad to see you out there representing the more logical and peaceful side of U.S. foreign policy. Good work to the organizers and marchers, your job is very important!!

As an aside, would there be any consideration to allow Fatah representatives to act as negotiators between Hamas and the Israeli government? This may seem a bit unusal, though novel ideas may be needed at this time to prevent further bloodshed. Fatah is more secular in their views and may be in a good position for the middle ground between the IDF and Hamas. Anything should be tried to promote peace and end the violence!!

Someone replied to my previous post saying that another reason attendance was low was due to the economic situation and the tension resulting from that . Absolutely . A couple of friends couldn't make it due to the fact that their jobs are too vulnerable. In the past they would have at "'scheduled ''a ''dental appointment ''at least for the morning and hit the streets with us .But they both felt that they would be asking for trouble if they did that today . (Especially the one in a non union job )
Times are tight ! I think activists might have to revive the old 1930's practice of '' rent parties '' .

This was obviously an excellent demonstration and thank you to all who attended. This was at least the 6th demonstration in San Francisco against the Gaza Genocide perpetrated by US/Israel (Dec 28, 29, 30, Jan 2, 3, 5) since the US/Israeli escallation of the war against Palestine on Dec 27. Let us remember the impediments:
1) This is the difficult issue of Zionism that the Zionists love to associate with anti-Semitism, although it is they who are the anti-Semites, and it is they who threaten people with loss of jobs or funds if any questions about Israel are raised at all;
2) This was billed as a "direct action" which sounded like civil disobedience, so those who do not want to participate in CD avoid such actions;
3) This was a cold, wet, weekday morning, both the weather and the fact that it was a workday knocked lots of people out of going to this demonstration.

In spite of it all, 1,000 managed to show up for the 6th demonstration San Francisco has had. It looks excellent and it was a great idea to march to the federal building at 450 Golden Gate and from what I hear, shut it down for 1 hour. You can hear more about it on KPFA's Flashpoints, at 5 p.m., Jan 5 at:
http://www.kpfa.org/archives/index.php?arch=30293
and KPFA's evening news at 6 p.m., Jan 5, (KPFA is at 94.1 FM) at
http://kpfa.org/archives/index.php?arch=30294

ALL OUT FOR JANUARY 10 AT 11 A.M. AT THE SAN FRANCISCO CIVIC CENTER for the nationwide demonstration for Palestine, rain or shine. If rain, wear your rain gear and cover your signs with plastic.

Please Please do not post grossly inaccurate figures . Let's leave the distortions to our enemies.

"Until there is a true Peace movement, and not just Jihadi oriented hatefests..."

CLUE: We live in the US, not in Sudan, Jordan, or Pakistan. US tax money and weapons are responsible for the Gaza massacre. So we go to the Federal Building to "negotiate" how our tax money is spent.

Please keep us informed of your true Peace movement, and protests you organize against injustices committed by Sudan, Jordan, and Pakistan.

Re: What a rally
by junya
Tuesday Jan 6th, 2009 2:08 AM:

"Please keep us informed of your true Peace movement, and protests you organize against injustices committed by Sudan, Jordan, and Pakistan."

What a rally
by JT
Monday Jan 5th, 2009 10:44 PM:

"Why is Israel accused of apartheid, when it's Jordan where Jews aren’t allowed by law to own property? Blah, blah, blah..."

Amusingly *ironic*, since at least 95% of the land in Israel-Palestine can only be owned by *JEWS* -- containing JEWS-ONLY cities, towns, settlements, schools, other institutions, and even roads. But I thought that Zionist Jews -- "THE CHOSEN PEOPLE" -- claimed to be *better* than and *superior* to the Arabs/Persians/Muslims...